Black Nursing Leaders Reflect on their Journeys and Impact
Themes of resiliency, advocacy, and determination fill the oral histories of Black nursing leaders documented in a recent study published in Nursing Outlook.
Ashley Graham-Perel, EdD, assistant professor and director, Office of Diversity and Cultural Affairs, conducted the oral histories with Wrenetha Julion, PhD, Rush University College of Nursing, and Kenya Beard, EdD, Mercy University School of Nursing, examining the experiences of past American Nurses Association (ANA) presidents who identify as African American. These leaders include:
Barbara L. Nichols, DNSC (HON), MS, RN, FAAN, FADLN
Executive director of the Wisconsin Center for Nursing
ANA president from 1978 to 1982
Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, FADLN
President and CEO, National League for Nursing
ANA president from 1996 to 2000
Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, FADLAN
Vice Dean for Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Duke University School of Nursing
ANA president from 2019 to 2022
Graham-Perel and her colleagues conducted this research to understand how these professionals view leadership and to fill in “gaps of nursing history that have customarily omitted the voices of nurses who identified as Black or African American.” The researchers met with Nichols, Malone, and Grant over a year and a half, collecting audio/visual recordings and transcriptions.
Through their approach, they were able to draw out the following findings:
- Each of the past presidents unknowingly forecasted their future as leaders, as if speaking self-fulfilling prophecies into existence.
- The importance of belonging to a professional nursing organization like the ANA.
- System-level strategies that prioritize the adoption of a humanistic culture and acknowledge the perpetuation of racism are needed to improve the nursing profession.
“Their narratives remind us that the clay has not hardened, and therefore, the molding of the nursing profession continues,” Graham-Perel and her colleagues conclude.